Windows to the Soul
by TheTearsOfAnAngel
Summary: After the defeat of Pitch, the Guardians threw a party to celebrate. Jack POV
**I do not own Rise of the Guardians**

Jack stood awkwardly in the corner of a crowded room. He was surrounded by spirits who he didn't know in Santoff Clausen. North and the other Guardians thought it would be a good idea to throw a party to celebrate Jack becoming a Guardian and the defeat of Pitch. They had forgotten that, as a Winter spirit, Jack wasn't especially liked by the other spirits. Alone and forgotten, Jack slipped from the party to the room that North had given him. He pulled out an old, leather journal. It had been a gift from Phil one of the first times Jack had tried to break into the Pole. He flipped to a blank page and began to write.

 _Accidents_

 _I built an accidental prison_

 _Because I had accidental hope_

 _I had accidental joy and love_

 _I had accidental things_

 _That I had accidental dreams of_

 _My accidental hope was crushed_

 _I lost my accidental joy_

 _I was refused accidental love_

 _I was accidently cast aside_

 _And lost my accidental pride_

 _So I built an accidental prison_

 _To lock my heart away_

 _Behind a wall of solid ice_

 _Where it was meant to stay_

 _To protect me from these accidents_

 _From accidental heartbreak_

 _From my accidental hope_

 _So I couldn't lose my accidental joy_

 _I'd keep my accidental pride_

 _Because I'm more than just a broken toy_

 _My accidental dreams melted in Spring_

 _And washed away in Summer_

 _And by the time it came to Fall_

 _I couldn't remember my accidental dreams_

 _At all_

A knock sounded on Jack's door. He quickly closed the journal and set it beside him.

"Come in!" He yelled. Bunny poked his head in the room.

"This where ya been, Frostbite?" Bunny stepped the rest of the way into the room as Jack nodded.

"Why'd ya leave the party?" Bunny asked. Jack shrugged. He didn't want to talk to anyone, especially not Bunny.

Bunny sighed, "If ya don't give me a good answer soon, Frosty Ah'm dragging you back out there by ya ears." Jack just looked away, still refusing to talk.

Bunny's eyes lighted on Jack's journal,"What's that, Frostbite?"

Jack's eyes widened as he grabbed the journal, "Leave it, Kangaroo." Jack's tone was icy. Bunny lunged for the journal. The two wrestled for possession of the journal. Every time Jack thought he had the upper hand, Bunny pushed him back. Every time Bunny thought he had the upper hand, Jack pushed him back.

 _RIPPPPPPPPP!_

Jack's eyes filled with horror as he gazed at the pages strewn across the ground. Tears welled in his eyes as he began picking up the remains of his notebook. Most of the pages were still in one piece or they were very close. It wouldn't be extremely difficult to fix, but it would never be exactly the same. He slipped the stack of pages he held into the now empty binding, not noticing that Bunny still held one page of his notebook. The most recent poem. Jack finally looked up to see Bunny's eyes flying across the page. Jack snatched the page out of his paws, but it was too late. Bunny had already read the poem. He reached out to lay a paw on Jack's shoulder, But Jack shook him off. In reading that poem, Bunny had broken Jack's already fragile trust. When Jack finally met Bunny's eyes, he wasn't wearing his usual mask of smiles, laughter, and joy. Instead his eyes were filled with raw emotion. They showed how fragile the Winter spirit truly was. He always acted as if he didn't care, but it was now clear to Bunny that it was a lie. Jack told more lies than everyone gave him credit for. People expected him to lie about little things, like pranks, so no one ever noticed his bigger lies. The ones he hid himself behind. Bunny wrapped an arm around Jack and pulled him down, so the two of them were sitting next to each other on Jack's bed.

"Ya really feel this way, Snowflake?" His voice was soft and comforting to Jack.

Jack nodded softly, "I never show people how I really feel, because when I do they push me away even more than they already would have. If I don't feel, I can't be hurt."

Bunny held Jack closer, "Ya don't have to hide yourself, Frostbite. Ya got a family of people who care about ya now." He lifted Jack's head to look him in the eyes. "If ya evah tell anyone about this, you will never get all the paint off of ya, but I care about ya too. Ya're really important to our family. Ya brought us together. We all love ya."

A soft smile graced Jack's face, "Love you too, Kangaroo."

Bunny stood up, "Come on, let's get ya back to the party."

Jack laughed dryly and without humour, "Do you really think anyone besides the other Guardians want me there? I'm still a Winter spirit. Winter doesn't get to spend time and be friends with other seasons and spirits." Bunny sat back down next to him. There was a moment of hesitation before,

"Who told you that, Frostbite?" He asked softly.

Jack looked down, "Everyone." Bunny looked at Jack. He had never seen this side of Jack before, or maybe he had and he was so wrapped up in his own selfish thoughts that he'd just never noticed.

"Why'd ya believe them?"

"No one'd ever given me reason to believe otherwise."

Bunny tightened his hold on Jack, "Well, Ah am. You are not only wanted. You _deserve_ to be there. If anyone gives ya a hard time, Ah'll whack 'em for ya." Jack smiled, it was small, but it was genuine. And that was all that really mattered.

"I'll meet you there in a minute, Kangaroo. I just need to finish something." Bunny nodded and started out the door, but poked his head back in.

"And Frostbite," he said, "Ah'm a bunny." Jack laughed as Bunny walked away. It was a crystal sound, like tinkling ice. He picked up the most recent page of his journal and finished the poem he had been writing when Bunny walked in on him.

 _But I found accidental happiness_

 _I found accidental love_

 _I found an accidental family_

 _And all the accidental things_

 _I'd been accidently dreaming of_

 _They shattered my accidental prison_

 _Freed my frozen heart_

 _They shared my accidental love_

 _And promised I'd never be set apart_

 _But when I went to rebuild my accidental dreams_

 _Out of ice and frost_

 _I was right then I realized_

 _That they were never truly lost_

Closing his journal, Jack walked out of his room to celebrate with his family.


End file.
